Maricopa County’s ballots in the 2020 general election will be reviewed and recounted Thursday by contractors hired by the Republican-led Arizona Senate. Matt York / AP hide caption
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Matt York / AP
Maricopa County’s ballots in the 2020 general election will be reviewed and recounted Thursday by contractors hired by the Republican-led Arizona Senate.
Matt York / AP
answer to US Department of Justice concerns On aspects of a controversial election review, the Arizona Senate chairman says plans to go door-to-door asking residents about their election history are “indefinitely” on hold.
The decision, which was not previously announced, follows a letter to Senate President Karen Fann of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
Pamela Karlan, the department’s assistant attorney general, wrote on Wednesday that there are plans to interview voters requesting information about their voter registration and voting papers, as set out in a contract setting out the scope of the 2020 Senate review by the Maricopa Senate County set out could violate federal laws that prohibit voter intimidation.
Fann, a Republican, wrote in an answer to Karlan on Friday that this part of the review is disabled, at least for the time being.
“With regard to the election campaign, the Senate decided a few weeks ago to postpone this component of the examination indefinitely,” wrote Fann.
The Senate President left open the possibility that an acquisition could take place at a later date. There is no estimate of when the review, especially a review and recount of the nearly 2.1 million Maricopa County ballots cast last November, will end.
When the Senate is promoting door-to-door inquiries from voters, “its salesman will implement detailed requirements to ensure that the acquisition is conducted in a manner that is in full compliance with the orders of the United States Constitution and federal and state civil rights laws corresponds. ” “Fann wrote.
Regarding ballot custody and security, another Justice Department concern, Fann wrote that while the audit and recount were outsourced to private companies, “physical security issues … specifically addressed to the Arizona Senate in the Main seller reserved were contract. “
“In practice, the Senate-appointed liaison officer, former Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett, is on site virtually every day and is instrumental in overseeing every aspect of the exam,” Fann wrote.
The DOJ had warned that keeping ballots in the custody of private companies was a possible violation of federal law requiring state and local election workers to save and retain federal voting records. The Maricopa ballot includes races for federal office, such as the President and Senate races, which are recounted.
Fann wrote that no ballot papers or other official election papers were destroyed, damaged or misplaced during the review. “We are confident that our strong security infrastructure has kept the risk of such violations as low as possible in the future.”
The letter from the Ministry of Justice followed a inquiry from the Brennan Center for Justice and Suffrage, which wrote to the DOJ on April 29, asking the government to send federal observers to monitor the audit and recount process.
Campaign experts criticized Cyber Ninjas, a Florida-based cybersecurity firm that Fann hired to lead the review and recount, as unqualified to review the 2020 election.
This story was original released from KJZZ in Arizona.
